NOLITE TE BASTARDES CARBORUNDORUM (The Handmaid's Tale) [NSFW, unspoilered triggers]

This is a very dark show intended for mature audiences. The plot is like 93% potential triggers. I'm not going to ask people to try to spoil all that, so there may potentially be a large variety of unspoiled triggery stuff.

But anyway! The Handmaid's Tale has been adapted into a TV series by Hulu, and is currently airing. I got to watch the first two episodes with @Deresto. It's amazing!

I desire a place to put all the words I may want to make about this show. If you also have words about the show, put them here if you feel so inclined.

Please spoil episode discussions for at least three weeks* after the episode airs so people have some time to watch.

*Does that seem like a reasonable amount of time? I'm unaware of the usual conventions here.

I've never attempted to start a thread of this type before, so forgive any egregious errors I may have made. I'll try to get them resolved as I realize they exist.

 

I think the conventional wait time for not having to spoiler is the time it takes for the next episode to air usually, unless they air right after each other (eg an all week marathon) or have a ridiculous wait time between episodes (eg a hiatus or season finale) but given the platform on which its delivered three weeks seems reasonable to me. I will say maybe not having to spoil for general recurring themes seems okay? Plot development things would be nice to have behind a curtain though

 

God, the visuals though. I love the use of color reminiscent of technicolor days, and the things like the wings they have to wear outside like a horse with blinders on, the dynamic wide and ariel shots, the use of minimalistic and excessive symmetry to unnerve or catch the eye... Its so great. And then on top of everything theres all these horrible things being done as if they were normal and its heartwrenching

 

Oh yeah, interesting fact, i saw a thing earlier that said the whopping majority of the people on set are women, and at least 4 out of 5 of those women were directors at some point or another. Theyve got all the ladies from the tops of their respective fields making sure this is done right and so far id say they are absolutely crushing it

 

rolls in
yells

i binged the first 3 in one go, i was gonna try and wait because it's such heavy material but it's also such a good show. the visuals are gorgeous, and i think the story was really well adapted to modern times and a video format. more words tomorrow probably.

 

I just watched the first episode and very unfortunately it's too late here to watch more. I am definitely going to watch more.

I was initially a bit worried that they couldn't capture the feel of the book, since video is a completely different medium, but they've actually done it really well, I think. The combo of colours and narration and well-placed soundtrack makes the non-flashback scenes feel the slightest bit unreal, story-like

Spoiler: book ending spoiler

which they presumably are, if the series follows the book in the "Offred gets away and records her story at some point in the future"

 

crossposting, rabb.it room link is in the kintsugi rec room thread

 

okay, does anyone know where I could maybe find a list of what episodes, if any, contain rape or sexual assault scenes? I realize it's a triggery dark material show, but that's one thing that, while I can handle seeing it, I cannot handle seeing without mentally preparing myself for "this thing will contain that" first. I'd really like to watch this, but I do not want to have a spiral/episode/bad mental health thing because of it. everything else I can handle without necessarily knowing it'll come, but not that one.

 

I heard there woul be pretty colors so I may end up here.

 

all of them so far, its the main theme of the show.

 

ahh i missed the steam, will you do another one when the next episode comes out?

 

I plan to probably do a general breakdown of each episode with things like content and general observations after the first season is over during a rewatch (if i make it that far) but that wont be for a while.

Yeah, definitely! Its looking like maybe not next week, but the week after? I wanted to see what was up with the transformer stuff for that week first and verily has stuff next week so it'll be a bit harder to plan.

 

okay, thanks. I'm still gonna watch it, but probably like. very slowly. because mental preparation and winding down after episodes and not intaking too much of triggery thing at once. so I do not think I will join rabb.its of the show, but I will still be here!

 

no clue if it's been three weeks since the first episode came out, but I like to talk about episodes as I watch them and make observations and guesses, so I will do that here if no one minds and I'll just spoiler them. I'll probably spoiler them even if it's been three weeks, because my rambling can get long, especially for shows with episodes long like these ones, and I doubt everyone's interested in reading my thoughts :P

Spoiler: so

okay, first off, I'm going to assume that this is America or something like it, even though that's not been confirmed for me by anyone. it's very clearly its own country, though, it has to be, or trying to get out wouldn't make any sense, and that is clearly what Offred and her daughter and husband were trying to do. and it's interesting that her husband was killed, but she wasn't, even though they were both trying to get out--that seems to suggest that the men who betray what they're trying to do are viewed as traitors and so killed, while the women are viewed as, at least at that point in time, still usable.
and it's pretty clear Offred wasn't supposed to say "You too" to the man she met. and that she isn't normally allowed to sit in the presence of his wife. so there are expected responses and greetings based on your position in this society.
....I'm guessing it's a multilayered society in terms of 'classes'. Handmaids are clearly one class, Marthas are another, and the wife of this important person is another. I'm assuming men have a similar set-up. my first thought was that the men are probably at the top no matter what their position and then there's a hierarchy within that, and then the women are below them, but I'm assuming it's set up more like the importance of the women is based on the position of the men they're attached to in addition to their position in the social hierarchy. so, like, the lowest male position probably can't touch the wife of an important man without repercussions, but the repercussions would be because the man the woman is attached to is important, not because of her at all.
Marthas are....basic house servants? cooking, cleaning, that sort of thing, I guess? and apparently address titles change based on your position. the society also seems very, very religious, which doesn't really surprise me if the focus was 'traditional values', and it's also reading to me as very Catholic. not even generally Christian, just that a lot of this stuff looks and sounds like what I've gotten from very conservative and bigoted Catholics.
Handmaids have the duty of bearing children, that much I already know, but it seems like they also do the house shopping, because those are pretty obviously food coupons she was just given, or something of the like. I wonder what they use for currency....are the paper stamp rip-off things currency, or just for food? they're different colors, so I'm thinking they're probably currency, but then why do they come in what looks like a stamp book? and how is money distributed? do people who are more important get thicker stamp books?
!!! I just realized why subtitles are prefacing the wife's things with Serena Joy, it's not because her first name is two names, it's because her class is Serena! (yes, I have subtitles on, I have auditory processing disorder so I kinda have to.)
and again, specific goodbyes....
"low status, hasn't even been issued a woman." so wives are issued? or are women not necessarily considered the wives of the men they're 'issued' to? but this kind of confirms what I was thinking earlier--if this driver guy touched Joy, he'd be in big trouble, but because he touched a Serena and that seems to be the title of women attached to important men, not because of Joy herself. I wonder how rankings compare with Handmaids or Marthas--they're not attached to anyone per se, after all. they're house servants. what would happen if a very low status man did something to a Handmaid or a Martha? I feel like a Martha would not have any kind of recourse, probably.
it's interesting to me she didn't speak to him, just stood there and waited. I wonder if that means she can't speak to men unless spoken to first or unless she has an errand to run and needs to speak to them.
oh, yeah, and the guards outside the house with the big guns are super reassuring. seems like this country's in turmoil.
I like that Offred at least has an internal monologue. she's not dead inside yet! bitter as hell, though, which I understand.
oh, shovel boy makes a joke. I like him, but also that's probably a poor and slightly dangerous choice on his part, given what I know of this society so far.
'maybe he's an Eye.' ....government spies, watching to see if you step out of line?
the war is going well! ah, good, good, this is a country in turmoil. excellent news.
Handmaids clearly have a specific dress code, so the other women of different classes likely do as well. I wonder if other classes of women are watched by each other the way Handmaids are, with the 'travel in twos' thing. probably. and they must have some kind of "reporting your friend for Bad Talk will be good for you" instead of the "if you listen to your friend do Bad Talk it does not matter if you report it you will both be punished" because otherwise I can't imagine that 'spy' system would work super well.
it also seems like the Handmaids aren't allowed to express displeasure or disapproval about....anything, or at least that's the feeling I'm getting here.
and the kids have to be protected by gunmen too! clearly girls and boys are educated separately, though, but that's not surprising. I wonder what class the teachers are? or are the women in the back not teachers? it would surprise me that they'd allow women to teach, even to young girls, but I can't figure out what else the two women behind the children would be.
kinda seems like expressing a desire for anything as a Handmaid is also forbidden, given the way Ofglen was like "we should go" when Offred stopped to look at the kids. Ofglen can't have known Offred was thinking about her previous child, or even that Offred had a child--if your old name is forbidden, speaking about your past most likely is too. so I can only think it's that Handmaids can't express a desire for things. they have to be happy with what they have.
and it seems Marthas do the shopping too, maybe in households without a Handmaid? they also travel in twos, so they must watch each other as well, the way the Handmaids are supposed to. there are a lot of Handmaids in the store, I note, so it must be in an area where most houses have Handmaids, but there are a few who I am pretty sure are Marthas shopping too.
it's interesting to me that so far only the Handmaid class is not an actual woman's name. I wonder why that is, or if it's just a thing with no real reason behind it.
....reading news is forbidden for Handmaids. the information they know is fed to them by others. restricting of what is known, easy way to control people.
Commander Waterford is very high up, and I guess belonging to the household of someone high up means you might be able to get perks. and this is very clearly America, so that's good to know, confirmation! interesting that the state names remain the same. and I wonder if the fighting is harder and more difficult in some places than others, or if parts of the country aren't even captured yet--maybe that's where Offred and her child were trying to go before? somewhere yet-uncaptured? and maybe after that to a different country, or maybe to join the rebels. I don't know, I'm not sure if she was somewhere that was captured at the start or later on after the new societal order had started to be set down.
and it's interesting that the Marthas and Handmaids seem like they expect each other to try and curry favor with the Serena of the household there. also, I guess Handmaids and Marthas might shop for food interchangeably? because a Martha being able to take credit for buying the oranges means that a Martha would've had to do the shopping for the household.
and also, I have a very bad feeling about the Handmaid who knew something about the news. there were four other Handmaids around. even if Offred seems unlikely to report her, there's two others, and I bet her partner for the shopping will report her for reading news.
oh my god, they hang men who've gone against the rules and leave them there. as warnings. and cover their heads with sacks with a symbol, so you know what they were and can suss out what crime they might've committed.
....I'm willing to bet the doctor did an abortion or something. the gay man, of course, was gay and didn't hide it well enough. the priest....I wonder what he did. and I want to know for sure what the doctor did, but I'm betting on abortion.
oh god. infertility is a 'plague from God'? that means anyone who's infertile and is a woman and needs to bear children is probably....done away with.
and I see the Handmaids are instructed, at least at the start of this regime, in how to think and what to know. and I'm assuming Offred was trying to escape at least a bit later in the takeover of the new regime, considering that they've already developed a teacher and a school and lies for history to teach--that doesn't happen overnight.
wait. does Offred....actually know the woman she just saw in the classroom? is that the same woman who we saw in the flashback?
jeez.
ohhhhhhhh. so all the women who are picked to be Handmaids right now, in this flashback, they were picked because they're fertile. hmmm. I wonder how that's done in the future, though. are children of Handmaids destined to be higher up than Handmaids? or can they also be Handmaids? what if a girl is chosen to be a Handmaid but isn't fertile? or in the future of the regime do they just kill all girls who are infertile because it's a 'plague from God' and therefore a Bad Sign About Your Character?
....hm. it seems not. all wives of the Faithful are barren. interesting.
do I even want to know what will happen to the woman who was electrocuted and dragged away?
it is the same woman. they knew each other before. what a reunion, god.
and her girlfriend's dead. they kill any gay people. god.
....and women who are gay are classified as 'Unwomen' and sent to The Colonies. I don't know what those are but I can't imagine they're GOOD. or at least, they were at one point, I don't know if they still are now....hm.
WELL SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENED TO JANINE
oh god they removed her eye.
okay, gay women are outright killed nowadays too, I guess?
oh, they have such a nice name for rape that you have to submit to as part of your job! The Ceremony.
....is that a tag on her ear?
it is. it's a tag, or something like it.
oh, cool, so if a Handmaid was raped in the past they teach her it was her fault. and it was done to teach her a lesson. of course. right. wonderful.
wait, why are Rita and shovel boy there?
hm. so on the night of The Ceremony, the wife is in control of things? at least, supposedly, so far.
oh. Handmaid is named so because of the Bible thing. but that's....not a real story of the Bible, is it? I don't think it is? so they revised the Bible, then?
Janine is. breaking.
....Offred just did a very dangerous thing, I think. I mean she already did a dangerous thing going outside at night but now she's doing another dangerous thing.
so a Salvaging requires all Handmaids be there.
Moira's dead, apparently. and was sent to The Colonies.
and Janine's pregnant.
....so they have the Handmaids kill anyone officially convicted of rape. or at least, they do when he rapes a Handmaid....but the fact that this was apparently a shock to them suggests they always have the Handmaids kill anyone convicted of rape.
hmmm. so this is an America where infertility and miscarriages were....a big problem.
my god. she was so close with Moira. and now Moira's dead.
Ofglen. Ofglen. I have a feeling you are saying some dangerous things right now.
they are trying to trust each other. I like this.
so Ofglen's wife and son got away. Offred's daughter was taken and her husband was shot. a passport to Canada....hm. I wonder if anyone can leave the country now, and the rebels are choosing to fight, or if they're genuinely stuck and have no other choice. and I wonder if Offred was going to Canada or just somewhere else in the country. she was supposed to meet someone, which sounds to me like smuggling across borders was going to be involved. and what's a red tag?
how does Ofglen know there's an Eye in Offred's house? and who is it? could it be anyone?
WE LEARNED HER NAME

......I know I said I was going to watch these one at a time but
but also

 

the teacher class are called "aunts," if i recall

serena is not a class, she just gets referred to as serena joy because that was her stage name before everything went to shit, if i recall

 

Spoiler: okay but

"I'm not that kind of person."
"No one is until they have to be."
is
a
I don't know it's powerful to me somehow
or
important, meaningful, something like that

 

yeah, that makes sense. but--

Spoiler: question

are the teachers like, also the women in a turquoisey blue who were at the back of the line of young girls? or just the women like the ones who trained the Handmaids?
and okay, that makes sense, but then do the wives of the....Faithful, I guess, have a class name?

 

also, the guardsmen are called "guardians," and are promoted to "angels" who get to fight in the war if they are good enough at their jobs. i think war hero angels can eventually become commanders too, but that's speculation on my part

 

Any afab person who is fertile is made to be a handmaid, regardless of what previous class they would have been. Everyone else is unfertile or unable to carry a child

Edit: from what weve seen so far anyways? The wiki is telling me other slightly different things

 

hm. then infertility and miscarriages were a REALLY big problem in this America, and still are. I wonder why that actually is (because I do not buy 'plague from God').